Healthy Homes, Healthy Neighborhoods

About the Program

The Healthy Homes, Healthy Neighborhoods program addresses big challenges on a small scale, one neighborhood at a time. By engaging with community groups, planning neighborhood events, and visiting hundreds of local households, our team's services help residents cut everyday costs, improve household health, and make Tacoma a better place to live. Check out some of the available resources below.

Services

Homebuyer Assistance

Have dreams of buying a home of your own? Tacoma is a wonderful place to live, between its parks, museums, concerts, arts, schools and universities, access to the greater outdoors, and food scene (and much more). Different resources help to keep the costs of buying a home affordable here:

Wood Burning Devices

As recently as February 2015, Tacoma-Pierce County was one of only 32 areas in the country that did not meet federal health standards for air quality. To address this problem, the Wood Stove Rule went into effect October 1, 2015 making it illegal to operate an uncertified wood burning stove in Tacoma.

Sign up for burn ban alerts to learn when additional restrictions may apply.

Lighting

Upgrade your lighting so your rooms are bright and welcoming this winter, while cutting energy bills. With new LEDs, you can save 80% on lighting costs between instant discounts in stores and additional savings as soon as you change out your old incandescent bulb.

Water

While it may seem abundant, only 1% of all water on earth is fit for human use. Yet, the average American family uses over 300 gallons each day. Luckily, it can be easy to save water (as well as the energy used to heat it) and cut your bills.

Don't Be a Water Waster

Between our showers and faucets we use 39% of our indoor water. Install a free shower head and faucet aerators which are available for pick-up at Tacoma Public Utilities and save water with each turn of a handle.

Trees

Trees are amazing. They clean our air and water, beautify our neighborhood, and raise property values. All across Tacoma, we’re working with citizens to expand our urban forests. Together, we can protect and restore Puget Sound.

Gardening

Roll up your sleeves: gardening in your yard or in containers will reduce your carbon footprint and exposure to harmful chemicals. It's a great opportunity to teach your kids, put healthy food on the table, and save money on groceries.

Get started at home with award-winning TAGRO fertilizer, soil, and mulch products.

Rain gardens help reduce storm water runoff, provide attractive landscaping features, and are easy to maintain. Pierce County Conservation District has programs that can cut the cost of a rain garden nearly in half.

Waste

All waste goes somewhere. That's why in Tacoma we reduce, reuse, or recycle before we get there. Put your recycling and food/yard waste containers to good
use, and benefit from space saved in your green garbage container. A neighbor will thank you when your garbage doesn't end up in their backyard.

Get up to two brown food/yard waste containers and as many blue recycling containers as you need.